1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to plastic containers, and more particularly to hot-fillable containers having collapse or vacuum panels.
2. Statement of the Prior Art
Hot-fill applications impose significant and complex mechanical stress on a container structure due to thermal stress, hydraulic pressure upon filling and immediately after capping, and vacuum pressure as the fluid cools.
Thermal stress is applied to the walls of the container upon introduction of hot fluid. The hot fluid causes the container walls to soften and then shrink unevenly, further causing distortion of the container. The plastic walls of the container—typically made of polyester—may, thus, need to be heat-treated in order to induce molecular changes, which would result in a container that exhibits better thermal stability.
Pressure and stress are acted upon the sidewalls of a heat resistant container during the filling process, and for a significant period of time thereafter. When the container is filled with hot liquid and sealed, there is an initial hydraulic pressure and an increased internal pressure is placed upon containers. As the liquid, and the air headspace under the cap, subsequently cool, thermal contraction results in partial evacuation of the container. The vacuum created by this cooling tends to mechanically deform the container walls.
Generally speaking, containers incorporating a plurality of longitudinal flat surfaces accommodate vacuum force more readily. U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,855 (Agrawal et al.), for example, discloses a container with a plurality of recessed collapse panels, separated by land areas, which purportedly allow uniformly inward deformation under vacuum force. Vacuum effects are allegedly controlled without adversely affecting the appearance of the container. The panels are said to be drawn inwardly to vent the internal vacuum and so prevent excess force being applied to the container structure, which would otherwise deform the inflexible post or land area structures. The amount of “flex” available in each panel is limited, however, and as the limit is approached there is an increased amount of force that is transferred to the sidewalls.
To minimize the effect of force being transferred to the sidewalls, much prior art has focused on providing stiffened regions to the container, including the panels, to prevent the structure yielding to the vacuum force.
The provision of horizontal or vertical annular sections, or “ribs”, throughout a container has become common practice in container construction, and is not only restricted to hot-fill containers. Such annular sections will strengthen the part they are deployed upon. U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,455 (Cochran), for example, discloses annular rib strengthening in a longitudinal direction, placed in the areas between the flat surfaces that are subjected to inwardly deforming hydrostatic forces under vacuum force. U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,788 (Ota et al.) discloses longitudinally extending ribs alongside the panels to add stiffening to the container. It also discloses the strengthening effect of providing a larger step in the sides of the land areas, which provides greater dimension and strength to the rib areas between the panels. U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,290 (Ota et al.) discloses indentations to strengthen the panel areas themselves. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,129 (Ota et al.) discloses further annular rib strengthening, this time horizontally directed in strips above and below, and outside, the hot-fill panel section of the bottle.
In addition to the need for strengthening a container against both thermal and vacuum stress, there is a need to allow for an initial hydraulic pressure and increased internal pressure that is placed upon a container when hot liquid is introduced followed by capping. This causes stress to be placed on the container side wall. There is a forced outward movement of the heat panels, which can result in a barreling of the container.
Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,141 (Hayashi et al.) discloses a panel configuration that accommodates an initial, and natural, outward flexing caused by internal hydraulic pressure and temperature, followed by inward flexing caused by the vacuum formation during cooling. Importantly, the panel is kept relatively flat in profile, but with a central portion displaced slightly to add strength to the panel but without preventing its radial movement in and out. With the panel being generally flat, however, the amount of movement is limited in both directions. By necessity, panel ribs are not included for extra resilience, as this would prohibit outward and inward return movement of the panel as a whole.
As stated above, the use of blow molded plastic containers for packaging “hot-fill” beverages is well known. However, a container that is used for hot-fill applications is subject to additional mechanical stresses on the container that result in the container being more likely to fail during storage or handling. For example, it has been found that the thin sidewalls of the container deform or collapse as the container is being filled with hot fluids. In addition, the rigidity of the container decreases immediately after the hot-fill liquid is introduced into the container. As the liquid cools, the liquid shrinks in volume which, in turn, produces a negative pressure or vacuum in the container. The container must be able to withstand such changes in pressure without failure.
Hot-fill containers typically comprise substantially rectangular vacuum panels that are designed to collapse inwardly after the container has been filled with hot liquid. However, the inward flexing of the panels caused by the hot-fill vacuum creates high stress points at the top and bottom edges of the vacuum panels, especially at the upper and lower corners of the panels. These stress points weaken the portions of the sidewall near the edges of the panels, allowing the sidewall to collapse inwardly during handling of the container or when containers are stacked together. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,909.
The presence of annular reinforcement ribs that extend continuously around the circumference of the container sidewall are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,909. These ribs are indicated as supporting the vacuum panels at their upper and lower edges. This holds the edges fixed, while permitting the center portions of the vacuum panels to flex inwardly while the bottle is being filled. These ribs also resist the deformation of the vacuum panels. The reinforcement ribs can merge with the edges of the vacuum panels at the edge of the label upper and lower mounting panels.
Another hot-fill container having reinforcement ribs is disclosed in WO 97/34808. The container comprises a label mounting area having an upper and lower series of peripherally spaced, short, horizontal ribs separated endwise by label mount areas. It is stated that each upper and lower rib is located within the label mount section and is centered above or below, respectively, one of the lands. The container further comprises several rectangular vacuum panels that also experience high stress point at the corners of the collapse panels. These ribs stiffen the container adjacent lower corners of the collapse panels.
Stretch blow molded containers such as hot-filled PET juice or sport drink containers, must be able to maintain their function, shape and labelability on cool down to room temperature or refrigeration. In the case of non-round containers, this is more challenging due to the fact that the level of orientation and, therefore, crystallinity is inherently lower in the front and back than on the narrower sides. Since the front and back are normally where vacuum panels are located, these areas must be made thicker to compensate for their relatively lower strength.
The reference to any prior art in the specification is not, and should not be taken as any acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in any country or region.